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Fantasy Baseball Week 15 (7/9-7/22)

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7/20 - The Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros have agreed to a 10 player deal that lands J.A. Happ and Brandon Lyon in Toronto and sends Francisco Cordero and Ben Francisco to Houston. Happ has had an up and down season in Houston and is currently 7-9 with a 4.83 ERA. He has earned a decision in each of his last 14 starts going 6-8 with 6 starts allowing 2 or less earned runs and 4 starts of 5+ earned runs. Happ finishes his Astros career at just 18-28 over 3 seasons. Clearly the 'Stros did not get back equal value in the Roy Oswalt deal, considering that 2 of the 3 players acquired (Happ & Anthony Gose) in the deal are now playing for the Blue Jays. Change of scenery is always nice for struggling players, but as a pitcher going from the NL to the AL USUALLY does not translate into better stats.

HOWEVER, with the departure of Ben Francisco, Travis Snider has been called up to the Bigs. Snider has been dominating AAA pitching and should see regular time in the OF along with Anthony Gose. Not saying you should add Snider just yet, but he could help for a week or two with Bautista sidelined.

The Colorado Rockies have sent Jeremy Guthrie to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Jonathan Sanchez. Netiher pitcher is worth adding but it is interesting to note that this is the result of two TERRIBLE trades this off season. The Rockies shipped Jason Hammel to Baltimore to add Guthrie to the rotation while the Royals traded Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez. The Melk Man has been a top 15 fantasy player this year and before Jason Hammel's knee injury he was a top 30 pitcher.

7/19 - The Washington Nationals have activated closer Drew Storen from the 60-Day DL. Storen should take back the reigns soon from Tyler Clippard who saved 15 games while blowing just 2 (one as recent as July 17). It is perfect timing for the Nationals who are still in the thick of things in the NL East as Clippard was starting to unravel against the Mets. In his last 2 save appearances, he allowed 3 HRs in 2 IP, blowing one save. He did however strike out 5 batters. Those were the only HRs Clippard had allowed all season. He had only 8 ER to his name before allowing 5 in the last two nights. Back to Storen, there is nothing set in stone for when he will get save opportunities again but he did save 43 games last season (48 opportunities).

7/16 - Cincinatti Reds All-Star 1B Joey Votto is set to miss 3-4 weeks after knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Over the last 30 days, Paul Goldschmidt (78%) and Tyler Colvin (53%) have been the top producing 1b eligible players under 80% owned in Yahoo leagues. In deeper leagues you could go after Ike Davis (48%), Anthony Rizzo (54%,) Adam LaRoche (55%) or even Adam Lind (29%). Let us know what you are thinking about doing before actually doing so by leaving a comment!

7/15 - Baseball returned to action this weekend and has provided fantasy owners with some headaches. One of the surprise pitchers of the season, Orioles Jason Hammel (73% owned Yahoo), left his start on Friday the 13th after just 3 innings and will now miss the next month. He is to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery which will keep him out of the rotation until at least mid-August. Tough loss for the Orioles who have kept pace with the Wildcard teams in the AL.

Another surprise star this season is Houton Astros SS Jed Lowrie (57%). He lands on the DL with an ankle injury that will keep him sidelined until August. Lowrie's 14 HRs ranks 2nd amongst SS, behind only Ian Desmond (17) of the Washington Nationals.

Los Angeles Dodgers P Chad Billinglsey (58%) will undergo an MRI on his elbow. He was scratched from his start today and a DL stint is likely regardless of the outcome.

7/13 - Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier will return to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup tonight. Kemp, who was putting up MVP numbers before a hamstring injury, hasn't played since May 30. Ethier hasn't played since June 27th after straining his oblique sliding against the Giants.

7/12 - Emilio Bonifacio will return to the Miami Marlins lineup this weekend. He had 20 stolen bases in just 39 games before landing on the DL with a thumb injury. If he continues to own a .351 OBP this season, he could still lead the NL in SB. He is worth adding to your roster in all league formats.

7/11 - Nick Markakis will be returning to the Baltimore Orioles lineup this weekend. It was Markakis' only trip to the DL in his 7 year career. He broke the same bone that Pablo Sandoval broke in each of the last two seasons (both hands) so it is clearly an injury you can recover from and be productive again. Markakis is just 57% owned in Yahoo leagues so those looking to boost their outfield should absolutely consider the Oriole. Nick was only hitting .256 before missing all of June, he did have 8 HRs and scored 25 times while driving in 26.

The Boston Red Sox plan on activating Jacoby Ellsbury on Friday the 13th. He is still 94% owned in Yahoo leagues as owners were smart and didn't drop him from their rosters. However, take a quick peak and see if he is available in your league. He might take a week to get back to speed, but there is no reason to believe he will aggravate the shoulder injury that sidelined him on April 13th.

DUE TO THE ALL-STAR BREAK, FANTASY BASEBALL WEEK 15 RUNS FROM JULY 9 TO JULY 22.

Can't decide which utility player to use? Don't know which relief pitcher to leave in? Did your player recently get injured and now you don't know if you should hold onto him or use the waiver wire? If you have ANY roster questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment!